FIRESIDE CHAT | AG BROWN
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown Discusses Priorities and Initiatives at 2025 Legal Summit MARYLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL Anthony G. Brown
was a featured speaker at the 2025 Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) Legal Summit in Ocean City on June 5, 2025, in a fireside chat with MSBA President Raphael Santini. Brown, the first African American to hold this office in Maryland, shared insights into his role, strategic plan, legislative priorities, and advice for young attorneys.
Before becoming attorney general he served in Congress representing the 4th Congressional District (2017–2023), as Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor (2007–2015), and in the Maryland House of Delegates, where he was Vice Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Majority Whip (1999–2007). Throughout his career, he has championed expanded protections for victims of domestic violence, abused and neglected children, and veterans, as well as initiatives to increase expungement eligibility, promote ballot access, and ensure LGBTQ rights. Since becoming attorney general he has established a Commission on Hate Crimes, and partnered with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender to create the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative, dedicated to reducing mass incarceration of African Americans and other marginalized groups. Brown is also a retired Colonel in the Army Reserve, with a distinguished record as an aviator and Judge Advocate General. The Role of the Attorney General Brown discussed his role as the chief legal officer of the state, emphasizing that he and the 1,040 employees of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) work for the people of Maryland. The OAG constantly balances the responsibilities and challenges of defending and protecting Maryland’s state agencies and the state’s institutional interests with serving the public. But the office's staff members never lose sight of the fact that they work for the people. “It is a challenging job,” said Brown, “and noble work” which gives him “a great appreciation for the job.”
Photo courtesy of Maximillian Franz
MARYLAND BAR JOURNAL | VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1
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